We all must market area to visitors

Restaurants, retail shops and all businesses, really, stand to gain in some way from visitors traveling here from outside the area. It’s undeniable that Trumbull County has so much to offer visitors.

That’s why we believe that making those visitors feel invited and welcome is so critical to keeping them coming back.

Achieving “heads in hotel beds,” is a tactic often utilized to generate hotel bed tax funds that are used to fuel the county’s tourism budget and to continue the cycle of tourism marketing. But there is so much more to marketing local tourist attractions than just that, and we believe Trumbull County Tourism Bureau Executive Director Beth Kotwis Carmichael sees that.

The First Flight Lunar Module in Warren recently was featured in Ohio Magazine for its connection to the upcoming 50th anniversary of the moon landing. A local restaurant also was spotlighted in the magazine after the bureau did a professional photoshoot earlier this year. Kotwis Carmichael also sees the importance of promoting the county’s 44,000 acres of outdoor and wildlife experiences that come with visiting local golf courses, the Western Reserve Greenway, the Mahoning River and Mosquito Creek Reservoir. Food tourism is also key, as are historical and educational visits to places like the Packard Museum in Warren or Niles McKinley Memorial and birthplace home. And don’t forget cool places like Warren’s David Grohl Alley that are of interest.

Of course, we do not mean to diminish the importance of hotel stays. We absolutely understand the benefits that overnight hotel stays bring to area businesses. Still, we also understand that hotel stays don’t always suit everyone visiting Trumbull County. Many “tourists” are here visiting family, attending a concert at the Warren Community Amphitheatre or picnicking at Mosquito Lake State Park. Accommodating those visitors so they might extend their stay here, hang around for dinner in town or plan a return visit to our area is of the utmost importance, and we all must be a part of it.

It is incumbent on every local resident to communicate and share the value of our beautiful hometown with friends and relatives who live outside the area. Invite them for a visit and then take them for a drive. Sadly, we sometimes take for granted the offerings, activities or simple beauty of our area when, really, there is so much to see and do here.

It behooves us to all work together to market the Mahoning Valley. After all, we have nothing to lose and only stand to benefit.